Chapter 2

On the way home, Shelby and Beth stopped by the local Baby's-R-Us to pick up a crib, mobile, play pen, toys and other things to go in Beth's room. The next day, Shelby awoke at four in the morning to the sound of a baby's crying. She immediately jumped out of bed and fast-walked to her daughter's room.

"Beth, honey, mommy's here. It's all right now, sweetheart." She said, taking her daughter out of the crib. She rocked her daughter back and forth for a few minutes until Beth finally stopped crying and fell back asleep. Shelby placed her daughter back in the crib and headed towards the door.

Maybe I should stay in here in case she wakes up again. She thought. She quietly shut the door and walked to the chair near the crib where she fell asleep. Two hours later, Beth's cries filled the room again. Shelby walked to the crib, picked up the crying infant and rocked her. While rocking her, Shelby herself fell asleep. When she awoke three hours later, she saw Beth sound asleep against her chest. She gently rose from the chair and placed Beth in her crib.

As Shelby walked out of the room, closing the door behind her, a knock sounded at the front door. She opened it to see Rachel standing there.

"Hey, Rachel. How are you?" she asked, excited to see her teenage daughter at the door.

"Hi, mom. I just wanted to stop by and say hi." Rachel said, smiling.

"Come on in. You're just in time for breakfast. Beth's asleep, so let's talk in the kitchen." Shelby replied.

Rachel and Shelby walked into the kitchen where Shelby cooked some pancakes. As the pancakes were cooking, Beth awoke and started crying.

"Beth's awake. Can you finish cooking these while I feed her?" Shelby asked.

"Sure, mom. No problem." Rachel said, rising from her chair.

Shelby left the kitchen and went into Beth's room.

"Good morning, beautiful girl. It's going to be a wonderful day. Your sister's here. We'll make the introductions later." She said, picking her daughter up and sitting down in the chair.